January 2014

01/13/2014

I am going to tell you what I think is the hardest thing that a human being can do... Saying something in the precise moment that something needs to be said; but our fear of failure, rejection, dissapointment or sadness is greater that the actual courage to say what is in our hearts and minds.

Over and over again, I notice that as technology increases our ability to express our thoughts and feelings to each other decrease greatly. We went from love letters to emails to 3 word texts. We went from telling people how we felt to sending emoticons. We replaced conversations with our loved ones to quick phone calls and text massages, basically giving the facts and losing the human contact and care. We go out to dinner with friends and in the first moment of an akward silence, everyone goes and reaches for their phone to check their social media sites. We have become so comfortable communicating electronically, that we are losing our ability to have a meaningful conversation with those we care about.

It's no surprise to me, that when it comes time for us to SAY SOMETHING to those we care about; we freeze up and our fears outmasters our ability to express our feelings. How many relationships could have been saved, if we are able to say what we felt, when we felt it and had enough practice communicating that disagreements were easily explained. How many problems could we have preveted ourselves if we were able to verbalize our thoughts appropriately to those around us? How much sadness, anger or frustration could we have prevented ourselves if we had taken the time to clarify with the others their intention behind their actions.

We may be able to communicate with our loved ones easier, but the quality of our communicarion is deteriorating.

How many times can someone express to you what they feel via text, but not when your face to face?

How many times do you send someone a kiss via an emoticon, but not give them a kiss when they are in front of you?

How many times do you tell someone you miss them, but not do anything to see them?

How many times do we hide behind our bright screens and stalk our friends on Facebook and not call them and ask them " Hey hows life?", even when you are already curious about how they are doing?

How many times do you see a friend accomplish a mayor milestone and all you do is press LIKE and not call them to congradulate them?

How many times do you have the urge to hug someone, and keep yourself from doing it?

How many times has pride or ego, kept you from telling someone you miss them, care about them or even say I'm Sorry?

It's easy to fall into these patters, heck I am guilty of all of them. BUT NOT ANYMORE!! A text will never be able to replace a phone call. A phone call will never be able to replace a conversation over coffee. A conversation can not only help you improve your communication skills, but it allows you the opportunity to spend time with the people that matter the most to you. It allows you the opportunity to give someone a hug if they need one, a kiss or a simple touch that expresses to them that you care. A single touch can say more than a thousand words.

Lets try something new (but that has been around since the beggining of time):

Tell someone how much you care about them IN PERSON.

Hug someone you care about.

Have a coffee or lunch with a friend you haven't seen in a long time.

If you have a fight, resolve it in person and not via text.

If you send someone an emoticon of a kiss; kiss them when you see them next.

If you say something via text, then say it again when they are in front of you.

If you feel it, say it. You may be saying the thing, that may make all the difference.

We live a human world, not a technology one. Children need human touch and communication to thrive, as adults we are no different.